Time4Learning.com & Lucas

Lucas and I completed our second week of Kindergarten at home. Our second week was just as successful as the first. This means that we have been using the online curriculum at Time4Learning.com for two weeks. Before we started, I was concerned about signing up for an online course. Seriously, who chooses to teach their child at home only to send him off to the computer for lessons? Thankfully, they have a 'cancel at no cost within fourteen days' policy. Even if we were not certain within the two weeks, a twenty dollar hit per month is better than over a hundred dollars for a program you would rather not use.

In the end though, it was not the cost that convinced me to try the program. Lucas was and is my reason. As I sit here and type this review, Lucas is sitting with his daddy, learning to write programs. He calls me over every couple of minutes to show me what he has programmed the turtle to do. When picking a curriculum, it helps to know your child and we know that Lucas LOVES computers, video games and technology, in general. So, we never doubted that Lucas would enjoy educational games on the computer. My concern was about the lessons. Do the educators working with the programmers know what my child needs to learn? The only way to answer these questions was to do it.

When we first began, I had a lot of technical issues with Time4Learning.com. Lucas runs the program on Chrome, using his netbook. Some of the issues were on our end; the netbook is small, Chrome is not the desired brower, and we even forgot to unblock the pop ups. There were some problems that occurred no matter which computer or browser we ran. After a few frustrating nights, we were able to fix/change enough to be able to run the lessons without major problems. Yes, we are still using the netbook and Chrome.

The funny thing is, even while frustrated with the technical aspects of Time4Learning, I was so happy with the actual curriculum that I had already, a week into it, decided to continue with the program! Yes, it is that good. At least, the Lucas levels are that good! Lucas is currently doing a first grade level for Math, Science, Language Arts (LA), and LA Extensions. Since there is no Social Studies for the lower levels, the Time4Learning people were awesome enough to include the second grade level for Lucas.

Lucas's favorite lessons, by far, is the Language Arts. As soon as we complete our morning "rug time," Lucas begs for the next lesson to be Time4Learning, specifically LA. It really is hard to say no to a child who is begging to learn how to read properly. They teach Lucas how to read properly in a fun and addictive way. Having been a teacher, I understand what Lucas has learned and what comes next. I even have ideas on how I would teach it in a classroom setting. What Time4Learning does is teach it in a way Lucas loves.

Each subject is separated into chapters or topics, which are broken into sections, which are sometimes broken down again. Lucas gets so thrilled about finishing these sections that he will ask to do two when they are the final two. The Language Arts, for the first grade level, teaches phonics and basic reading with the silliest of games like Space Man and Bug Band. They are fabulous because Lucas loves them. My only complaint is that Lucas loves the catchy songs/phrases so much, he (read: we) sing them all day long!

Example of catchy song/phrase: "When you have a word like cat, take an h and make it hat!"

Lucas and I always sit together while he does his lessons. I watch to make sure he is absorbing the information. If needed, I pause him to explain further or ask him questions to make sure he does understand. I do ask him to do the quizzes without my assistance. However, if it is clear that he missed the actual teaching, I will reteach the lesson without the computer. I also assign previously completed lessons as homework. While Time4Learning is not the teacher, it is a wonderful teacher's aide!

With twelve days of school completed, we are very happy with Time4Learning as our school's curriculum for Lucas. He is learning and learning fast. He looks forward to his lessons. Thanks, in part, to Time4Learning, he is truly enjoying his Kindergarten year. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking into it for a full curriculum or a supplement. Like anything else, Time4Learning is not for everyone. However, if you feel like it might work for your child, I believe there is a good chance that it will. Try it!